Hand grip strength and quality of life in functional elderly

Abstract

Introduction: During aging, involution of some body systems is observed. Among these changes, those that affect the musculoskeletal system such as sarcopenia and muscle weakness can alter the development of activities of daily life, and therefore affect health-related quality of life. Objective: to determine the relationship between hand grip strength and quality of life in elderly. Methods: Cross-sectional study. A total of 79 elderly (63 women and 13 men) between 65 and 78 years of age from three social organizations of Talca, Chile was included. A non-probabilistic convenience sample was used. To measure manual grip strength and the SF-36 questionnaire was used. Results: Significant relationships between hand grip strength and dimensions of quality of life, physical function (p=0,03; r=0.76), body pain (p=0,01; r=0,44) and general health (p=0,05; r=0,48) were observed. Conclusions: There is a relationship between hand grip strength and three measurements of quality of life in elderly. These findings corroborate the relevance of evaluating muscle strength in older people as a marker of health and quality of life in elderly.